Folding and feeding attachments for sewing machines



R. C. PATTEN March 19, 1963 FOLDING AND FEEDING ATTACI-MENTS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Jan. 17, 1961 INVENTOR. ROBERT C. PATTEN BYM,M

ATTORNEYS FOLDING AND FEEDING ATTACHMENTS FUR My invention relates to sewing machine attachments, and particularly to an improved attachment for securing a binding strip around the outer edge of a sheet of material, as is done, for example, to finish the outer or top edges of shoe uppers.

It is conventional in shoemaking to finish the outer edges of uppers with a binding strip of relatively thin material folded over the raw edge of the relatively thicker material of the upper. One way in which this has been done is to fold the strip over the edge of the upper and sew it with a single seam which secures the edges of the strip together on opposite sides of the upper. However, this construction leaves a raw edge of the binding strip on the exterior of the shoe, which tends to pull away and become unsightly. Moreover, considerable skill is required to position the opposite edges of the strip evenly during the sewing operation. It is the object of my invention to secure such binding strips rapidl and accurately, in a manner resulting in no exposed edges on the outside of the shoe, and to reduce the degree of skill required of the operator.

In operating the machine of my invention, the strip is placed against the outer edge of the upper, inside out, and the edge adjacent the raw edge of the upper is sewn to the upper. During this operation, the strip can be easily aligned with the edge of the upper, and any abrasion caused by the presser foot of the sewing machine is taken by the inside edge of the binding strip, which will be concealed in the finished product. The strip is then folded back on itself and under the edge of the upper, and sewn to the inside and downwardly facing surface of the upper. Using prior sewing machines, this step would be rendered difficult by the tendency of the folded edge to creep out of position. However, this difiioulty is overcome with the improved attachment of my invention.

The attachment of my invention is adapted for use with a sewing machine which is conventional except for the additional and modified parts which I shall describe. Instead of a conventional presser foot, I provide an overhead foot which holds the work with adjustable pressure. In addition, I provide a folding foot arranged to pull the strip firmly over the edge of the upper while a stitch is made. For this purpose, the folding foot is pivoted on a support which is raised during the stitch to engage the work, and lowered between stitches. At the same time, the foot is reciprocated by a cam that moves the foot in the proper direction to tighten the strip during a stitch, and in the opposite direction between stitches. In this manner, each stitch is made with the strip under the same tension, resulting in a smooth and even bind over the edge of the upper.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, together with the following detailed description, of a preferred embodiment thereof.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary crosssectional view of a shoe upper, illustrating the first step in securing a binding strip to the edge of an upper;

FIG. 2 is a view of the upper of FIG. 1, showing the manner in which the binding is finished;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, partly in cross-section, with parts broken away and with parts removed, showing a sewing machine provided with the attachment of my invention, and includes a diagram of the motion of th folding foot; and

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bed of the sewlng machine of FIG. 3.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the binding operation is begun by sewing the outer edge of a strip 1 in flush relation to the edge of an upper 2, as by stitches schematically indicated at 3. The strip and upper may be made of any conventional materials, such as leather, fabric, plastic or the like. If the strip is of material having sides of different texture, it is placed inside out. The strip is then folded over itself and over the raw edge of the upper in the sense illustrated by the arrow. As shown in FIG. 2, the other edge of the strip is then secured to the inside of the upper, as by stitches 4. The stitches 3 may be inserted by a conventional sewing machine, whereas the final stitches 4 are inserted by a sewing machine incorporating the attachment of my invention, such as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring now to FIG. 3, I have shown a sewing machine having a conventional bed schematically indicated at S which incorporates conventional driving means and the usual bobbin, shuttle and thread supply means, whereby a seam maybe sewn in work supported on an apertured table 6 with a thread 7 supplied to a reciprocating needle 3. The details of this conventional apparatus are not shown, since they form no part of my invention, and are well known in the art. The apparatus of my invention is mounted on a head 9 secured to the bed 5' in any conventional manner, and is actuated by a drive shaft 10, which may be the drive shaft of the machine or an auxiliary shaft geared or belted to the drive shaft. The shaft 10 is arranged to rotate once for each complete reciprocation of the needle 8. The shaft has its outer end journalled in the head 9 by a conventional bearing 11.

A cam 12 is adjustably secured to shaft 19 by a setscrew 13, and a cam 1-4 is adjustably secured to shaft 10 by a set-screw 15. These cams control the operation of the folding foot assembly, to be described.

The folding foot assembly comprises a serrated folding foot 16, which is secured by conventional means such as a screw 17 to a lever 18. Lever 18 may be bent outward, with reference to the plane of FIG. 3, at its lower end, to clear shaft 10. The lever is provided with a cam following roller '19 at its lower end, which engages a cam face formed on cam 14. Intermediate its ends, and in the straight upper portion, lever 18 is fulcrumed to lugs 20 formed on a movable support or slide plate 21 by means of a pin 22. The support plate 21 is urged against the wall of head 9, and lever 18 is urged against the face of cam 14, by a spring 23 wrapped around pin 22 and having transversely bent extremities engaging the support plate and the lever.

. As best shown in FIG. 4, plate 21 is slidably received in a recess formed in head 9, and mounted for vertical sliding movement by a screw 24, which passes through an aperture in plate 21 and is threaded into head 9. The aperture in the plate is elongated vertically, with reference to the plane of FIG. 4, to permit vertical movement of the plate.

Plate 21 is piv-otally secured to an arm 25, formed integral with a cam-following ring 26, by a pin 27. The ring 26 is mounted for relative rotation on cam 12. The cam is formed so that upon rotation of shaft 10, plate 21 is moved upwardly in FIG. 3, thereby engaging folding foot 16 with the binding strip 1, held in. that position during the stitching operation of needle 8, and moved downwardly, to release the strip, between stitches.

The upper 2 is positioned, during insertion of the final stitches 4, as shown in FIG. 3, on top of an overhead 3 foot 28, with the binding strip I pulled over the edge of the upper and held between the lower surface of overhead foot 28 and the serrated upper surface of folding foot '16 and underneath the upper.

The overhead foot 28 takes the shape of a long thin blade and is adjustably secured, by conventional means such as a set-screw 29 or the like, to a bracket 39 provided with a rib 31 received in a corresponding groove in a depending arm 32 formed on overhead foot 28. Bracket 30 is secured, as by pins 33 or the like, to an enlarged portion 35 formed on a rod 34, As shown in FIG. 3 the end of the overhead foot 28 engages the fold vertex of the binding strip 1 and so holds the strip against tensioning movement of the folding foot 16.

A first reduced portion 36 of rod 34 is received within a sleeve 37, which is threaded to engage corresponding threads in head 9. The lower end of sleeve 37 is formed with a knurled head 38, which may be manually adjusted to adjust the vertical position of the overhead foot 28 and its relation to the folding foot 16.

A second, and further reduced, portion 39 on rod 34 passes through a washer 40 at the lower end of head 38, and is threaded to receive a knurled nut 42. A spring 41 extends between nut 42 and washer 40. By this arrangement, the pressure exerted on the work by overhead foot 28 can be adjusted by manual adjustment of nut 42. A lever 43, which may he fulcrumed to any desired portion of bed in a conventional manner, not shown, is provided to raise the rod 34 and the overhead foot 28 against the tension of spring =41 when required for inserting or removing the work.

The face of cam 14 on shaft is provided with a lower dwell portion 44- which covers a portion of the angle of rotation of shaft 10 between stitches, this portion having been exaggerated in the drawing for purposes of illustration. Rising portion 45 is located with respect to roller 19 to drive the roller to the right in FIG. 3 as needle 8 approaches the upper 2. An upper dwell portion 46 is provided, which engages roller 19 during the placement of a stitch. A falling portion 47 is located with respect to roller 19 to allow the roller to drop back to the lower dwell portion 44 after completion of the stitch.

The timing of cams 12 and 14 is accomplished by properly positioning the cams about shaft 10-, and thereafter securing the cams with set-screws .13 and 15. The adjustment having been made, the operation of the apparatus is as described below.

Referring to the diagram in FIG. 3, starting at a point 0 marking the beginning of a stitch, with needle 8 entering the work, lever 18 is in the position shown with roller 19 engaging upper dwell portion an on cam 14. Cam-following ring 26 is in its upper position, and presser foot 16 is in the position closest to plate 21, drawing strip 1 tightly around the end of upper 2 while the stitch is inserted. During the stitch, foot 16 strays in position, with roller 19 moving along dwell portion 46 of cam 14, as indicated by line a in FIG. 3.

As the needle is withdrawn, plate 21 begins to move downwardly, lowering the folding foot 16 out of engagement with strip 1. Portion 45' of cam 14 is next encountered by roller 19, and foot 16 moves back or outwardly away from plate 21, as indicated by the line A Foot "16 then dwells, due to the dwell of roller 19 on cam portion 44, as indicated by the line fifi, while plate 21 falls to the bottom of its stroke and begins to rise again, bringing foot 16 up into engagement with strip 1 at the point C.

When the strip is sufiiciently engaged, cam portion 47 is engaged by roller 19, and foot 16 is moved forward, as indicated by line ()6, while needle 8 approaches the work, to tension strip 1. During the forward stroke of the folding foot, plate 21 continues to move upwardly, causing the foot 16 to hold the strip more securely. When foot 16 reaches its forward position, and during the dwell ion cam portion 46 of cam 14, a stitch is inserted. The cycle then continues as described above, until the entire binding strip is secured.

If the upper is to be bound after the shoe is closed, head 9 is shaped properly so that the shoe can be rotated around it during sewing, to provide a support.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the binding of shoe uppers, the attachment of my invention is equally suitable for the attachment of other forms of bindings and the like. Moreover, while I have described only one embodiment of my invention in detail, many changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading my description, and such may obviously be made without departing from the scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a sewing machine for stitching a first edge of a binding strip to a first side of a sheet of material, the strip having a second edge sewn to the other side of the sheet and being folded over and beneath an edge of the sheet, said machine having a reciprocating needle, means for tensioning the fold during the insertion of each stitch comprising, in combination, a thin overhead foot resiliently mounted on the machine and projecting into the path of the sheet ahead of the needle, the foot being shaped as a blade for insertion into the fold between the first edge of the strip and the first side of the material, a folding foot mounted to move in a direction along the axis of the overhead foot, which axis is disposed perpendicular to the line of stitching, a support slidably mounted on said machine for movement between a first position and a second position, a lever fulcrurned on. said support and having one end connected to said folding foot, said folding foot engaging the first edge of said strip on the side opposite said overhead foot in the first position of said support and disengaging said strip in the second position of said support, means for reciprocating said lever in a line normal to the first edge of the strip, and means for cyclically moving said support between its first position and its second position to cause said folding foot to tension said strip during the insertion of each stitch and against the resistance of the inserted overhead foot.

2. In a sewing machine for stitching a first edge of a binding strip to a first side of a sheet of material, the strip having a second edge sewn to the other side of the sheet and being folded over an edge of the sheet, an overhead foot resiliently mounted on the machine and shaped as a blade for insertion between the first edge of the strip and the sheet, a folding foot mounted to move in a direction along the axis of the overhead foot, Which axis is disposed perpendicular to the line of stitching, and means for cyclically moving the folding foot into engagement with the first edge of the strip and in a direction along the overhead foot transversely to the strip to tension the strip during the insertion of each stitch and against the resistance of the overhead foot.

3. In a sewing machine for stitching a first edge of a binding strip to a first side of a sheet of material, the strip having a second edge sewn to the other side of the sheet and being folded over and beneath an edge of the sheet, an overhead foot resiliently mounted on the machine and shaped for insertion between the first edge of the strip and the sheet, a folding foot adjacent the overheat foot and adapted to engage the first edge of the strip on the side opposite the overhead foot, the folding foot being mounted for movement in a direction along the axis of the overhead foot, which aXis is disposed in a direction normal to the feed of the work, a support slidably mounted on said machine for movement toward and away from the end of said overhead foot, a lever having one end connected to said folding foot and fulcrumed on said support about an axis parallel to said first edge, and means for cyclically reciprocating said lever and said support.

4. In a sewing machine for stitching a first edge of a binding strip to a first side of a sheet of material, the strip having a second edge sewn to the other side of the sheet and being folded beneath an edge of the sheet, said sewing machine having a reciprocating needle for making stitches at a predetermined rate, an overhead foot resiliently mounted on the machine and shaped as a blade to extend between the first edge of the strip and the sheet, a folding foot adjacent the overhead foot and adapted to engage the first edge of the strip on the side opposite the overhead foot, means controlled by said reciprocating means for moving said folding foot into engagement with said strip during the half of each reciprocation of the needle in which the needle inserts a stitch, and means for moving said folding foot transversely of said strip along the axis of said overhead foot and normal to the feed of the Work to tighten said strip before the insertion of each stitch, maintain the tension during the insertion of the stitch, and move the folding foot transversely of said strip in the opposite direction between stitches.

5. A folding attachment for a sewing machine for tensioning a binding strip which has been sewn at one edge to the outer edge of a shoe upper, and folded over itself and the edge of the upper to the inner side of the upper, while the other edge of the strip is sewn to the inside of the upper, comprising, in combination, an overhead foot resiliently mounted on the machine and being shaped as a blade to extend between the inside of the upper and the other edge of the strip, a folding foot adjacent the overhead foot, cam means for moving the folding foot into engagement with the strip to hold it against the overhead foot prior to and during the insertion of a stitch, and out of engagement with the strip at other times, and also cam means for moving the folding foot transversely of the strip and along the axis of the overhead foot, said second means comprising a cam and a cam follower, the latter being connected to said folding foot, said cam having a first portion for moving the folding foot along the overhead foot in a direction to tighten the strip, a dwell portion for holding the tension during the insertion of a stitch, and a portion for moving the folding foot oppositely along the overhead foot between stitches.

6. In a sewing machine having a reciprocatory needle, Work feeding means and a driving shaft, mechanism for presenting to the needle the edge portion of a shoe upper having a binding strip attached by one edge thereto and folded beneath the upper, said mechanism comprising a slide mounted to reciprocate vertically and a cam on the driving shaft for operating it, a lever mounted on the slide to oscillate about a transverse axis and a second cam on the driving shaft for operating it, a yieldingly mounted foot having the shape of a thin blade engaging the fold vertex of the binding strip and supporting the upper adjacent the path of the needle, and a serrated folding foot carried by said lever and moved thereby to engage the folded margin of the binding strip and tension it inwardly beneath the upper and against the resistance of said yieldingly mounted foot and during the stitch inserting movement of the needle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,354,514 Seymour Oct. 5, 1920 1,354,783 Seymour Oct. 5, 1920 1,356,938 Molyneux Oct. 26, 1920 2,426,057 Schweich Aug. 19, 1947 2,444,467 Popper July 6, 1948 2,731,929 Ayres Jan. 24, 1956 

1. IN A SEWING MACHINE FOR STITCHING A FIRST EDGE OF A BINDING STRIP TO A FIRST SIDE OF A SHEET OF MATERIAL, THE STRIP HAVING A SECOND EDGE SEWN TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SHEET AND BEING FOLDED OVER AND BENEATH AN EDGE OF THE SHEET, SAID MACHINE HAVING A RECIPROCATING NEEDLE, MEANS FOR TENSIONING THE FOLD DURING THE INSERTION OF EACH STITCH COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A THIN OVERHEAD FOOT RESILIENTLY MOUNTED ON THE MACHINE AND PROJECTING INTO THE PATH OF THE SHEET AHEAD OF THE NEEDLE, THE FOOT BEING SHAPED AS A BLADE FOR INSERTION INTO THE FOLD BETWEEN THE FIRST EDGE OF THE STRIP AND THE FIRST SIDE OF THE MATERIAL, A FOLDING FOOT MOUNTED TO MOVE IN A DIRECTION ALONG THE AXIS OF THE OVERHEAD FOOT, WHICH AXIS IS DISPOSED PERPENDICULAR TO THE LINE OF STITCHING, A SUPPORT SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAID MACHINE FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION AND A SECOND POSITION, A LEVER FULCRUMED ON SAID SUPPORT AND HAVING ONE END CONNECTED TO SAID FOLDING FOOT, SAID FOLDING FOOT ENGAGING THE FIRST EDGE OF SAID STRIP ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE SAID OVERHEAD FOOT IN THE FIRST POSITION OF SAID SUPPORT AND DISENGAGING SAID STRIP IN THE SECOND POSITION OF SAID SUPPORT, MEANS FOR RECIPROCATING SAID LEVER IN A LINE NORMAL TO THE FIRST EDGE OF THE STRIP, AND MEANS FOR CYCLICALLY MOVING SAID SUPPORT BETWEEN ITS FIRST POSITION AND ITS SECOND POSITION TO CAUSE SAID FOLDING FOOT TO TENSION SAID STRIP DURING THE INSERTION OF EACH STITCH AND AGAINST THE RESISTANCE OF THE INSERTED OVERHEAD FOOT. 